UPDATE 1-AstraZeneca lifts FTSE 100 from Barclays slump

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* AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) tops FTSE 100 on earnings beat
* Smurfit Kappa rises on Q1 result
* Barclays slumps , cautious outlook weighs
* FTSE 100 up 0.1%, rises 3.8% in April

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By Devik Jain and Julien Ponthus
April 30 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index outshone its
European rivals on Friday, boosted by earnings updates from
AstraZeneca and Smurfit Kappa which help offset a slump in
Barclays shares due to a cautious outlook despite profits
beating expectations.
London's blue chip index .FTSE ended the session up 0.1%
to secure a monthly gain of about 3.8%, the most since November,
and bring a year-to-date rise to almost 8%.
The last day of trading in April saw U.S. and European
benchmarks edge lower after reaching record highs this week on
the back of an upbeat first-quarter earnings season.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ticked down 0.3% while on Wall
Street the S&P 500 .SPX fell 0.6% in afternoon trading.
The star performer in London was heavyweight AstraZeneca
AZN.L as better-than-expected results and a second half growth
forecast lifted its shares 4.3% and buoyed the broader UK
market.
The drugmaker said its COVID-19 vaccine sales were $275
million in the first-quarter and that it was on track to deliver
200 million doses a month from April.
"Despite the intense operational and political challenges
created by AZN's COVID-19 vaccine roll out, the core business
continues to perform above market expectations in a most
challenging quarter, demonstrating strength across therapeutic
areas and geographies," Citigroup analysts said in a note.
Another big winner on Friday was Smurfit Kappa SKG.L .
Europe's largest paper packaging producer jumped 4.2% after it
posted a 6% increase in first-quarter revenue on strong
packaging demand. The index was further supported by tobacco makers British
American Tobacco BATS.L and Imperial Brands IMB.L which rose
more than 2% each after peer Swedish Match SWMA.ST reported
upbeat quarterly profit. Barclays BARC.L posted by far the worst performance of the
session, losing 7% despite beating expectations with
January-March profit more than doubling to 2.4 billion pounds.
"A drop in investment banking earnings, lower revenues and a
cautious outlook took the shine off a doubling in profits,"
wrote Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
Though the equities trading business heavily outperformed,
analysts highlighted the 35% drop in revenues from its fixed
income, currencies and commodities, which was largely linked to
tighter spreads and lower client activity.
The domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index .FTMC
advanced 0.5%.
After the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained a status quo on
its monetary policy on Wednesday, investors' focus has now
turned towards Bank of England's meeting on May 6 where it might
ease its foot off the stimulus pedal and slow bond purchases as
Britain's economy rebounds. In February, the BoE forecast the economy would grow 5% this
year after slumping by almost 10% in 2020.
"The combination of a shallower Q1 contraction, faster exit
from lockdown, a more supportive near-term fiscal policy, and a
better external backdrop should see the Bank push up its 2021
projections closer to 7% from 5%," wrote Deutsche Bank economist
Sanjay Raja in a note.
"An inevitable growth upgrade would give the monetary policy
committee (MPC) enough ammunition to start QE taper."
Among other stocks, cybersecurity company Darktrace DARK.L
soared 32% in its trading debut.